


We'll Paint the Town

by kotabear24



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Say Yes to the Dress Fusion, American Harry, Awkward Flirting, British Louis Tomlinson, But Not Much, But not the sexual kind, Famous Louis, Just the flirty kind, Kleinfeld's, Louis doesn't know how to flirt, M/M, Non-Famous Harry, Teasing, Thankfully Lottie does it for him, There's barely anything, They mention Jay just a bit, Wedding Dress Consultant Harry, louis is a shit, side Ziam, there is crying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 15:35:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14897247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kotabear24/pseuds/kotabear24
Summary: For the Larry abroad prompt: Kleinfeld's, New York. This is a Say Yes to the Dress fic.In which Louis can't flirt, Lottie does all the work, Harry just wants to get her in a damn dress, and Niall is an aggressive affirmer. It ends well for everyone.





	We'll Paint the Town

Harry walked into Kleinfeld’s exactly three minutes early with an Americano in one hand and a chai latte in the other. Walking into the meeting room, he nearly ran into Niall who, as usual, was already moving around at what some people might consider an alarming or abnormal pace due to the hour of the morning. For Niall, it was pretty standard. 

“Ah, my favorite man,” Niall exclaimed with a happy sigh as he thankfully accepted the Americano Harry bought for him every morning against his better judgement. 

“You’re welcome,” Harry sang, grinning. A few of his friends were already in the room, and Harry and Niall took a seat as Liam came in. 

The chatter died down as Liam greeted everyone, and finally, it was quiet enough that he started going over the agenda for the day. “Alright, so today is going to be a bit different.” Immediately, the chatter started up. 

“We work at a bridal store that’s an international TV sensation,” Niall muttered from Harry’s shoulder, bewildered. “What could go differently?”

“Alright, alright!” Liam called, laughing a little exasperatedly. He raised his hands and everyone fell quiet again. Gripping his planner, Liam looked at his employees. “We have a celebrity guest coming in today _who will not be on camera_ ,” Liam raised his voice over the babbling again. At his insistence, everyone shut up again. “Our celebrity guest asked specifically that no cameras be anywhere near the appointment, so even though I am _positive_ I don’t need to, I’m going to ask again that we all be sure to store our phones in our lockers before we open the doors.”

That much wasn’t different. Everyone who worked at Kleinfeld’s had to sign nondisclosure agreements at their hire date and every quarter, they all got called in individually to go over and double check that no issues had been raised in the last three months. Phones were mandatorily shut in lockers every shift and were not allowed to be powered on unless there was an emergency – Harry knew when Perrie’s niece was in the hospital last year, she was allowed to keep her phone on in the locker and use her FitBit to keep track of who was texting her so she could stay updated with her niece’s health (thankfully, everything had turned out okay).

“However, our guest has asked us to shut down the left set of back rooms so that nobody could interrupt the appointment.” Liam’s fingers gripped the planner a little tighter, and Harry had to suppress a snort at how much he knew Liam must have been stressing about limiting the functional operation of the back three rooms. “Now,” Liam scanned the planner and read aloud. “Perrie, you have a ten o’clock with a camera client; her name is Bridgette. Niall, you’ll be down in fitting today for a few hours; we’re going to be a little crowded, so I’ll have Leigh Anne and Jade down there to help you all out.” Niall nodded, sipping at his coffee. “Zayn, you’ve got a non-camera client at nine forty-five, so get your death-stick inhalation out of the way as soon as you’re dismissed from here.” Zayn snorted but nodded, and this time, Harry did laugh, along with everyone else. Everyone knew Liam and Zayn had been bickering about his smoking, and everyone but Liam knew Zayn had been quitting and was waiting to surprise Liam once he was smoke-free for one whole month. (He only had one week to go.) “We’ve got two women coming in who are getting married, so Jesy, you’ll take Jasmyne, and Ash, you’ll take Labina, and it’s really important that they don’t see each other, so you’ll have to coordinate their revealing because they’re coming with the same party and don’t want to see each other.”

“Are they camera clients?” Jesy asked, her hand half-raised. She grinned. “That would be really cool, to have a lesbian couple on camera. Exposure.”

“They haven’t said either way, so you two just be ready, alright?” Liam replied. Then he looked at Harry. 

“Harry, you’re going to handle our party with the celebrity guest in the back rooms.”

Harry smiled and tried not to get too excited when everyone started hooting and hollering at him. He rolled his eyes, but he nodded at Liam, who was going over the rules he’d have to follow during the appointment – there were surprisingly few, for a celebrity – and taking notes on what he’d have to remember. 

\---

Louis walked into Kleinfeld’s with his sisters and little brother in tow. A muscular man in a gorgeously-tailored suit and a buzz cut came to meet them. 

“Good morning, I’m Liam Payne; how can I help you?”

It was nice of him to pretend like he didn’t recognize Louis right on sight, instead scanning his sisters to figure out which bride would be his client for the day. “Charlotte Tomlinson,” Lottie said, excited and nervous, “I’m your ten o’clock. I know I’m a bit early, so –”

“Ah, Miss Charlotte!” Liam said happily, taking her hand and going in for the cheek touch. Louis raised his eyebrow and wondered if he did that normally, or if it was because he knew they were British. Lottie was grinning when he backed away, though, so Louis didn’t really care either way. “Let me grab Harry, who will be your consultant today, and you can get started. In the meantime, if you’ll follow me to the back rooms, we’ve got everything set up to ensure you aren’t disturbed in your appointment.”

“Thank you so much,” Lottie said gratefully, and Louis added his own thanks as they followed Liam to their designated area. 

“Of course!” Liam said, waving their thanks away, though Louis noticed he was a bit flushed. “Here we are. Could I grab a water for any of you?”

The area was nice – exactly what they saw on TV, Louis noticed: white sectional sofas in front of a stage-like area with a three-way mirror behind it, dressing room around the corner. Louis’ sisters and Ernie all took their seats on the couches, and Louis remained standing, comfortable enough to see the entrance and know if there would be a fan coming. “A bottle of water would be great, actually,” he requested sheepishly, feeling a bit bad that he made Liam act like his personal waiter. 

“No, of course,” Liam said, sounding genuine as he smiled and waved Louis’ apologetic expression away. “It’s back in the room Harry is most likely waiting in, at any rate. I’ll snag one and have him bring it to you. One moment.”

With that, Liam left, and Louis and his siblings were alone.

“He seems nice,” Felicite said conversationally. 

“Very,” Lottie answered happily. “I was worried we’d have someone do a lot of arse-kissing –”

“Lottie,” Louis interjected, looking at Ernie and Doris. Luckily, they had their dinosaurs out, and were already playing in their own little world, but he didn’t want them picking it up while he was in charge. Dan would never let him live it down.

“Oh, please,” Daisy laughed, Phoebe snorting right along with her. “Like they don’t already know ‘arse’.”

“Are we gonna be on the telly?” Phoebe asked, suddenly interested in other things.

“Of course not, dummy,” Felicite answered, and then looked between Lottie and Louis. “We’re not, right?”

“Better not be,” Louis muttered, while Lottie just laughed and shook her head and said, “No, we won’t.”

“I specifically asked –” Louis’ words were cut short when he saw a young man, around his age walking in. He was tall, with short hair pushed into a sort-of quiff that swooped up and over to the right, leaving the hair on his sides and back to curl freely. He was a gorgeous man, a beautiful smile on his face, and he was in (tight) black trousers with a flared leg and a…very ruffled cream-colored women’s blouse. So many ruffles. 

“Good morning, I’m Harry,” the man greeted at he walked toward them. He held four bottles of water in his hand – in _one giant hand_ – and offered them out to everyone. “Who wanted water?”

“Just me, thanks,” Louis answered, finding his voice. 

Harry smiled at him and Louis noticed that he was being checked out just as openly as Louis had been checking him out only moments before. “Here you go,” he offered. From this close, Louis noticed his eyes were an intriguing light green. “So!” Harry set down the rest of the waters on the table in front the couch, and looked around at the siblings. “Who’s getting married?”

“I am,” Lottie said, earning an enormous, beautific smile from Harry. 

“Congratulations!” He said, looking genuinely happy. “Oh, I love love,” he added, earning a laugh from Lottie and Felicite. “Who have you brought with you?”

“Oh, these are my siblings. Doris and Ernie, over there, with their dinosaurs,” Lottie gestured to the twins, both of which looked up, though Ernie was the only one to smile and manage a greeting. 

“Much more important than this dress business,” Harry said very seriously, nodding, and then, “Hiiiiiii,” in response to Ernie’s greeting. The smile on his face was stunning, and his expression went soft when the kids returned to their toys. “Ugh, how cute,” he murmured, though Louis was staring at his lips closely enough to catch it. 

“And that’s Phoebe, and Felicite, and then there’s Daisy, they’re all younger than me,” Lottie continued, and Harry smiled and murmured a ‘hey, good morning, how’re y’doing?’ to each of them in turn, “and this is my big brother, Louis.”

Harry didn’t falter; Louis had to give him credit. He didn’t react much differently than he had with the girls. His gaze was definitely a lot steadier, but his greeting was friendly and professional. “Hey, good morning,” he murmured, not wanting to talk over Lottie. 

“Morning,” Louis answered. 

“So, is this the whole family? Lot of siblings here; I love it!” Harry exclaimed happily. “I love big families; I only have one older sister. What would _you_ all love to see Lottie in?”

Instantly, Louis’ younger sisters exploded with opinions.

“She’d look _amazing_ in a trumpet –”

“Definitely not overly-bright white; honestly, a cream color would be great with her hair –”

“Mum would have a _fit_ if she showed up in a church wearing a _trumpet_ ; she needs something more A-line and modest!”

“A dress!” Doris shouted, ending all the squabbling.

Harry laughed and walked over to Doris, squatting down. “Your name was Doris, right?” He checked, his voice soft and sweet. At Doris’s sudden shy nod, Harry smiled invitingly. “I think you have the best suggestion. Would you like to pick out a rack for us to start on when we’re ready to begin?”

“Yeah!” Doris shouted, bouncing up high on her knees. Louis’ heart melted. 

“Great!” Harry said, slapping his thighs as he balanced evenly, not even wobbling. Louis wanted to tear up those thighs. “It’s settled. Thanks for helping us out!”

When he stood, Harry looked over at Louis. “What are your thoughts, big brother? What would you like to see her in?”

Louis smirked over at Lottie. “Something that shows absolutely _no_ skin, is hideous, and makes her look ill should do the trick, I think,” he joked, earning a playful shout from Lottie and a giggle from everyone else. “No, I – I don’t know much about dresses, I’m afraid, but I know she wants something to show off her curves,” Louis grimaced as he mentioned his sister’s body, feeling a bit like Donald Trump, “and I like the thing on dresses when they make lines around it,” he said, drawing his fingers in a slanting curve around his waist. 

“Rouching,” Harry nodded, and Louis shrugged. 

“Sure,” he laughed, “I think that would look nice. I dunno,” he finished, feeling a bit out of his element. “I guess I just want to see her in the dress of her dreams, in something she couldn’t feel more beautiful in if she tried. Not something just anyone would wear. Something that _Lottie Napolitano _would wear.”__

__Harry’s smile was soft and happy, and he was nodding at Louis spoke. “Alright, awesome! So what’s the budget? Where should I stop?”_ _

__“Around –”_ _

__Louis interrupted her. “There is no budget,” he said._ _

__Lottie looked at Louis, her mouth gaping wide open. “That’s not why I brought you; you shut up!” She said, leaning over and hitting his arm._ _

__Louis leaned away from her, laughing. “I know, you menace! Ow, stop! I’m your big brother and I’m rich; let me do things for you!”_ _

__Lottie frowned. “You know Mum and Dan saved up some money for this,” she said seriously._ _

__Louis sighed. “Yes, and I know they could save for fifty more years and never have the money I do,” he replied bluntly. Louis’ sisters looked back at forth between the two of them, as did Harry. “Let me do what I want,” he growled, trying to be serious and failing miserably._ _

__Lottie laughed, rolled her eyes, and leaned into Louis’ side. “Thank you,” she said emotionally, and Louis kissed her temple._ _

__“No budget,” he said to Harry, happy to have won._ _

__Harry giggled. “Alright, then let’s have some fun! Lottie, if you’ll come with me, let’s go talk a bit more and see what we can get started.”_ _

__Lottie kissed Louis’ cheek, murmured, “Only if you score with this guy,” and dashed off before Louis could protest or scold her. Damn her, for always knowing when Louis was attracted to a guy._ _

__\---_ _

__Harry and Lottie had their talk, Harry taking notes on what Lottie wanted, which, surprisingly – and luckily – fell closely in line with what her siblings wanted for the most part – and now, as Harry called up Niall to help him grab, he was trying not to freak out._ _

__“She’s _Louis Tomlinson’s sister_!” He whispered furiously among the Justin Alexanders. Grabbing 88008 just so they could see her in something different, Harry looked around at the dresses and then up at Niall, who looked confused. _ _

__“The model, or the makeup artist?” he asked, like that mattered._ _

__“The makeup artist. _Niall_ , he’s gorgeous. Like, actually fucking gorgeous. And I think he was checking me out!”_ _

__“Well, of course he was, stupid, you’re hot,” Niall muttered as he looked at a dress for a moment, shoved it aside, and grabbed the next one. “Why wouldn’t he check you out?”_ _

__Harry rolled his eyes at Niall’s particular brand of aggressive friend affirmation. “Ooh, this one,” he added, grabbing an 88010 he loved. “I’m just saying…he’s hot.”_ _

__“It’s only unprofessional if you fuck him _during the appointment_ ,” Niall said with a wink, and he slapped Harry’s ass and walked away laughing. Moments later, he heard Niall knock on Lottie’s door and say, “Bringing in some dresses for Harry!”_ _

__Harry sighed and moved on to Vera Wang._ _

__“Oh, that is stunning,” Felicite gasped as Lottie came out in an Indie Grace that draped on all of her curves, but kept her modest and lovely._ _

__“I love that you listened and didn’t put her in white,” Phoebe muttered to Harry from her seat._ _

__“I’m not a fan,” Daisy disagreed, looking apologetic. “It looks…”_ _

__“Who would choose that?” Louis said bluntly._ _

__Harry felt a little hot and uncomfortable. “I did,” he said, fighting down the urge to justify putting her in it like a scolded child._ _

__“Oh,” Louis said, trying to be polite, now. “It’s, erm. It’s quirky.”_ _

__After that, Louis made Harry’s life a living hell._ _

__“I love how you think outside the norm of regular fashion and do your own thing.”_ _

__“That’s not really a choice I would have gone with.”_ _

__“I think it’s so brave, the way you take risks. Ernie, Doris – pay attention to Harry. He knows the truth about risks; you have to take some crazy ones in order to _eventually_ get to what you want.”_ _

__In the dressing room, Lottie was happy and giggly, which surprised Harry. It was clear she idolized him and that Louis’ opinion was most important to her._ _

__“How are you feeling, Lottie?” Harry asked her. “I know it can be frustrating to continuously get negative feedback about your dresses.”_ _

__But Lottie simply grinned. “Stop doubting yourself,” she said, grabbing Harry’s hand. “He’s liked most of the dresses you’ve brought me out in. He’s just trying to get your attention and he sucks at it because he got famous before he could figure out how to chat up fit boys. He thinks you’re cute.”_ _

__Harry felt dumbstruck. Even as he fastened the buttons on Lottie’s back and fought a blush, he felt shocked. There he’d been, stressing and feeling like he was losing his touch, despite being one of the best consultants on the team, because he couldn’t find a ‘wow’ enough dress for a woman with no budget, and it was all because some famous man-child didn’t know how to flirt._ _

__“Awe, don’t get upset with Lou,” Lottie pleaded. “He’s planning on chatting you up, I promise, but he doesn’t like to do it in front of us. It makes him feel weird. He feels like he has to be our mum now,” Lottie swallowed hard, and Harry’s irritation vanished, just like that, “and he feels weird, paying attention to someone else when his siblings are there, under his care.”_ _

__Harry smiled against his will, and finished fastening Lottie’s buttons and had her turn. “There,” he said, looking at Lottie’s reflection in the mirror over her shoulder. “You look absolutely beautiful,” he said. “How do you feel?”_ _

__“Oh,” she said wistfully._ _

__It was a Pnina Tornai, from her _Wind Upon Water_ collection, and it was a just-barely mermaid skirt with a sweetheart neckline and one-shouldered sleeve that was nothing but lace. On the breast and left side of the ribcage was rouching, and on her right side and hip was see-through lace. It was almost backless, only lace coming up from her right side and attaching to her left shoulder sleeve, and the skirt was smooth material on one side, and bunched lace on the other. _ _

__“Oh, fuck, this is the one,” she said tearfully, and Harry rushed to give her a tissue, which she accepted with a laugh. “Thank you. Oh, my god, this is the one.”_ _

__“Well, let’s go show them, then, yeah?” Harry said softly, rubbing her upper arms comfortingly, and she nodded, blowing out a mouth full of air so her cheeks puffed out._ _

__“Okay, I’m ready,” she said, composing herself. Harry was amazed. She didn’t even look like she’d been crying._ _

__When they rounded the corner, everyone gasped as soon as they saw Lottie. They’d done it almost every time, but Harry could instantly tell the energy was different._ _

__“Shit,” Daisy said, looking stunned. “You look _hot_ ,” she said, and Lottie laughed._ _

__“Oh, Lotts, that looks so amazing,” Phoebe said, her face in her hands. “You look so beautiful.”_ _

__“Ernie? Doris? What do you think?” Lottie asked hopefully._ _

__The twins turned around, and Harry watched Doris squeal. “That’s the one I picked!” She shrieked. It wasn’t, and they all knew it, but nobody was about to break her spirit._ _

__“You look like an angel!” Ernie decided, and gave her a thumbs-up._ _

__“God, I love it,” Felicite said, staring wide-eyed at Lottie._ _

__Everyone turned to Louis, then, who, to Harry’s surprise, had tears running down his face and into his beard, which he made no move to wipe away._ _

__“Lou?” Lottie asked, and Louis shook his head._ _

__“I cannot wait to watch Tommy realize how lucky he is to be marrying the most amazing woman,” he said, choked up. “Lottie, you look beautiful.”_ _

__Lottie was openly crying, now, and she reached her arms out to him. In an instant, Louis was in front of her, holding her tight and kissing her hair as she cried into his neck. In a moment of comedic relief, Lottie said, “I _knew_ you would cry today, you liar,” and Louis laughed wetly and rested his chin on her hair. _ _

__“Oh, this isn’t because I’m emotional over you; it’s because you’re so funny-looking and I’m amazed a dress could do so much,” he responded, laughing when she pulled back and swatted his shoulder._ _

__They look at each other a moment and Lottie whispered, “I wish –”_ _

__“She’s here,” Louis interrupted. “She’s been sitting on the couch with me, telling me I’m awful for flirting with your consultant during your appointment.” Lottie laughed, thumbing at her eyelashes. “She’s here. And you know she’d love this dress.”_ _

__Harry pulled out the pocket square he had and dabbed at his own eyes, and went around offering the box of tissues to the other ladies on the couch. He returned to Louis and Lottie and offered them some, and felt gratified when Louis thanked him for the tissues and offered him a warm smile._ _

__Harry took a deep breath and began. “So, are you saying yes to this dress?”_ _

__Lottie grinned. “I’m saying yes to the dress!” All the girls and Harry – and then Louis – started cheering, and Lottie was jumping up and down as she did, pulling Harry into a hug. “I’m getting married and I just found my dress!” She shouted in his ear. Harry pulled back and grabbed her hands._ _

__“You’re getting married, and you just said yes to your dress!” He cheered back, laughing at her unbridled joy._ _

__They brought Lottie back into the dressing room, where she mourned having to get out of it, and Harry called Niall up so he could escort her and her party down to fitting, so they could take measurements and get her tailoring taken care of. She wouldn’t be walking away with the dress today, but hopefully, it wouldn’t take long and she could come pick it up in a few weeks._ _

__Harry was putting the dresses back when he heard a voice behind him that startled him. “You did a really amazing job with her, you know.”_ _

__Harry turned around and saw Louis, still standing by the couch, where he’d only sat down a few minutes during the entire appointment. “Louis,” he said dumbly. And then, shaking himself, he asked, “Did you lose your way down to fitting? I can have someone bring you th-”_ _

__“I’m not lost,” Louis interrupted Harry’s professionalism with his honesty. His eyes were blazing and gorgeous icy blue, and Harry’s breathing picked up slightly. “I had the girls go down with Lottie. I wanted to talk to you alone.”_ _

__“Oh,” Harry squeaked. _Louis Tomlinson_ wanted to speak to Harry? “Is there – uhm – something you need?”_ _

__Louis walked closer to Harry and smiled. “I hope I didn’t piss you off during the appointment. I know I can be a little shit; I just wanted your attention.”_ _

__“You had it,” Harry said without thinking, and then blushed._ _

__Louis grinned, though, and said, “You were really cute, trying to win my approval.”_ _

__Harry made himself laugh, though he flushed deeper. He absolutely wanted Louis’ approval. “I was doing my job,” he said, hearing how weak he sounded to his own ears._ _

__“And doing it very well,” Louis agreed, nodding in acknowledgement. “I should’ve expected as much; you’re great on the show.”_ _

__Harry blushed. “You watch the show?” He asked._ _

__“Doesn’t everyone who comes in here?” Louis asked, thrown off his game for a moment. “That’s probably the only reason all the girls came; wanting to be in the show.”_ _

__Harry laughed softly. “Too bad they came with you, then,” he teased._ _

__“Too bad,” Louis echoed, staring at Harry’s lips. When he looked up at Harry’s eyes again, he didn’t seem to be embarrassed to have been caught staring. “Listen. I – I’d like to take you out. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy, or whatever; I’m not – if you’re not interested in a date, I’d even like to take you for a coffee as a thank you, or something.”_ _

__Harry looked down at his feet, and felt his face heat up when he saw Louis reach for the silk ribbon ends of the long bow tie he had on, playing with them near his belly button._ _

__“Say yes,” Louis requested, and Harry looked up and met his eyes. He looked determined, and hopeful. “Go out with me. I’m not asking for a mental, long-term relationship with paparazzi and headline news; I know nobody wants that. I’d just like to take you on a date, maybe take you dancing, if you’re up for it. A regular date.”_ _

__“No non-budget craziness?” Harry teased, and Louis laughed._ _

__“No, of course not. Nothing crazy. Dinner, dancing, maybe a flight to Ibiza; nothing –” Louis broke off in laughter as Harry’s eyes widened. “Kidding! I’m kidding. I promise. Just a regular date.”_ _

__Harry’s smile grew slowly, and he nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “I think I’d like that.”_ _

__Maybe Harry could teach him to flirt._ _

**Author's Note:**

> Lottie ends up in Pnina Tornai's Wind Upon Water #4440.   
> https://goo.gl/images/gZYbyd


End file.
